McConnell Ad Says He Cares About Helping Sick People (VIDEO)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has released a new ad that touts his efforts to help sick cancer patients.

"I worked at a nuclear facility that has been vital for our national security. Like many, I was exposed to radiation. I got cancer," says Robert Pierce, an energy worker in Paducah, Kentucky who suffered from throat cancer. "But Mitch McConnell fought for us, creating cancer screening programs and providing compensation for sick workers."

It appears to be an effort to improve his image where he's vulnerable: the Republican leader has spent years trying to disrupt and dismantle Obamacare, which stands to provide health coverage to hundreds of thousands of uninsured Kentuckians. He also faced some controversy prior to taking action to help those injured by contamination at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Democratic candidate for McConnell's seat, pointed out that McConnell included the same worker, Robert Pierce, in a similar campaign ad when he last ran for re-election in 2008.

"It is no surprise Mitch McConnell has to recycle old TV ads given that he offers no new ideas," Grimes' spokeswoman Charly Norton said in a statement. "It is insulting to Kentuckians for McConnell to haul out this old, dishonest play every six years when he's on the ballot."